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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kzach" data-source="post: 4675432" data-attributes="member: 56189">I would go further to say that all racial histories and the plethora of races clashes with the concept of logical and organic evolution of ideals, philosophies and dominance.It's one of my pet peeves about settings like Forgotten Realms. Where did all these monsters and races come from? Poof! Magic.It's a primary motivating factor behind my desire to create my own setting. I want everything to be a logical extension of the events, beliefs, peoples, magic, etc.A for instance is, in my setting, why silver is the dominant metal for coin usage. All denominations are fractions of the 'silver piece' standard. This evolved from the overthrow of the first orcish god, known as 'Silverbeard'. All gods in my setting are ascended mortals. Part of the basis for the setting is that souls are a form of power that is fought over and all beings that exist in the Mortal Realm are mortal.He cools his own blood in the spear tip impression in the snow of the cave where he dwells. This silver dagger is given to an assassin who kills potential new orcish gods and their souls are absorbed through it and given to the god. Using this power, he maintains an immortal existence in the mortal realm. The soul is believed to be silvery in nature, and therefore Silverbeard's blood turned to silver over the hundreds of years he maintained his existence by absorbing souls.Assassination in orcish culture is lawful if done to prove a crime was committed. If you die from an assassin's blade, it is obvious that you weren't worthy of living; only the guilty would suffer such an insult to their prowess. When a potential god rose to power amongst the orcs and got other potentials on his side, Ashen of the Silver Blade (the immortal assassin and Silverbeard's right-hand lady) went to kill him. She was thwarted in her attempt and ended up siding with the new god because she believed him innocent of the crimes Silverbeard accused him of.The new gods killed Silverbeard with the dagger Ashen was given to kill the new god.Because of this, the orcs have a reverence for silver. In my setting, the orcs maintain an empire that has spanned over 900 years and dominates roughly 1/4 of the continent. Imagine a cross between Imperial Rome and the Klingon empire and you get the gist.One other nation (human) is a dominant trader on the continent, facilitating trade between most races and being the most successful in bringing foreign trade to the continent. They even happily trade with the orcs, despite having warred with them for centuries. It just makes economic sense.Because of all these elements, silver has become the default standard throughout most civilised nations on the continent.</blockquote>

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